🔗 Share this article The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a flight risk Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention. The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews. High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed. This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight. Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight. This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child. His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night. The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us." He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land." Foreign Shelter Risks Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said. The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling. Global Responses The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports. He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday. Latest Court Petitions It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring. They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems. Background on Conviction He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula. High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial. The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023. But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília. The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody. The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority. At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe". He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment. The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.